Perry praises Landtroop while reasserting role

State Rep. Jim Landtroop could be a big help for Gov. Rick Perry when state lawmakers convene next year, and the governor made sure Tuesday to return the favor early.

Perry visited Pampa on Tuesday to formally endorse the 44-year-old Plainview Republican in his re-election bid, three weeks before the Republican primary race that has fielded three challengers.

“This is about a known product,” Perry said. “I’m so proud to share my support for him.”

Cal Jillson, a Southern Methodist University political science professor, said Perry’s endorsement is a boost for Landtroop, especially after serving one term in the House.

The governor has about six months to lend his support to House and Senate candidates before the next legislative session begins in January 2013, Jillson said.

“The reason Perry is doing this is, he took such a beating during the presidential run that he’s trying to reassert himself in Texas politics prior to the 2013 legislative session,” he said.

In presidential politics last month, Perry endorsed presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, for his party’s nomination.

The governor said Landtroop has “demonstrated a commitment to the right thinking,” including low taxes and a predictable regulatory environment, which Perry hopes to continue pursuing in Austin.

With Landtroop, Perry said Pampa hit “the redistricting jackpot” after a protracted political and legal battle in recent months that set the boundaries for the May 29 primaries.

Since he was first elected in 2010, Landtroop lost some parts of his old boundaries in House District 85.

The new House District 88 stretches diagonally from Ochiltree County in the Texas Panhandle’s northeastern edge to Yoakum County in the South Plains’ southwest corner. The district is one of the largest, mostly rural areas in the Texas House, spanning more than 300 miles from Perryton to Denver City.

State Rep. Warren Chisum, the Pampa Republican who has represented much of the district since 1992, is running for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. Chisum has not endorsed any of the four candidates in the race.

Landtroop’s opponents include Pampa businessman Mac Smith, Canadian native Ken King and former state Rep. Gary Walker.

Perry and Landtroop were flanked by Austin-based activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, president and CEO of Empower Texans, a powerful limited-government group in the state’s Republican caucus. Sullivan presented Landtroop with the Taxpayer Champion Award for resisting calls during the 82nd Legislature to raise taxes to close a multibillion dollar budget shortfall.